2026 MG7 review: The sedan strikes back!

There’s little doubt that MG Australia has succeeded in an other wise saturated new-car market, to an extent few predicted when the brand relaunched under new ownership. How would a classic, British sports car brand succeed in a market that had drifted to SUVs and 4WDs, consigning the once traditional sports car staples to the back of the class?

Sales not far off 60,000 in 2023, followed by a strong 50,592 in 2024 indicated that MG’s bullish approach to pricing, warranty, servicing, and standard inclusions was already winning a battle the manufacturer had no right to be in. It has meant that, whether it’s electric, hybrid, performance or daily-driver, MG has become a legitimate big-time player in the Australian new-car market and a start met with scepticism has quickly changed the minds of the Aussie buying public.

It’s why the release of the car we’re testing this month in Wheels – the MG7 – is so fascinating.

Crediting MG with reinventing the medium sedan segment would be a stretch, but on paper alone it’s fair to say MG might have reignited a segment that was otherwise withering on the vine.

1

You know the story – Australia was once the playground of medium and large performance sedans. Our own homegrown Commodore and Falcon led the charge, but over the decades, Toyota had a crack, as did Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan and the Euro brigade. If there was a performance variant of a sedan on offer, manufacturers wanted to find a way to get it to Australia, such was the enthusiasm for products in showrooms around the country.

If you factor in small sedans and hatches, the pastures of Australian showrooms were rich with variety. Cars were interesting, hot or warm under the skin, lightweight, fun to drive, while retaining the practicality we expected from what was usually a daily driver. The rising tide of SUVs killed all that though – or so we thought.

China – with all its manufacturing might – can seemingly turn its focus to anything it wants, and
execute that plan in fast forward, but it’s not just the new brands making hay while the sun shines. Driving is fun again, if you’re happy to sidestep the SUV rush, and perhaps most importantly, it’s affordable, too.

1

Drive any of the current crop of grin-inducing small or medium cars, and all of a sudden an SUV
feels heavy, dull, slow to respond, and nowhere near as engaging. I’d go so far as to say these cars remind us of the simple joy of driving that was once evident in so many otherwise simple cars.

The Wheels Car of the Year winning Honda Civic is an example, as is Hyundai’s i30 Sedan N, or Sonata N Line. Skoda’s Octavia RS is a mainstay, and the more primo European options remain. If you accept that a liftback like the Civic or the MG7 is a ‘sedan’, there’s a lot to like about the current crop that, depending on your budget, offer varying degrees of warmth from the driving experience. Some are hotter than others, but all of them put a smile on your face. Which is best is less important than which one aligns with your financial ambition, because in regard to enjoyment per dollar spent, all deliver the grin factor you’re looking for.

It’s why the 2026 MG7 is such an important car for MG in Australia. It’s one thing to offer affordable and value-packed small cars, SUVs and electric vehicles. Think MG’s more affordable MG5, for example, which fights head-to-head with other challenger brands. It’s a different game entirely to enter a segment dominated by traditional brands, with deep, rusted-on loyalty. On paper at least, the MG7 has the chops to take the fight right up to the established brigade.

1

Pricing first, then, and MG has opted for one trim grade only, well specified as you’d expect. It will be priced from $44,990 before on-road costs, meaning you’ll likely be driving out of the dealer beneath the $50,000 threshold. MG7 gets the same seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty as other offerings from the brand, extending out to 10 years/250,000km if you service it within the MG dealer network and drive it for personal use only. Wheels got its hands on the keys early, and the capped-price servicing plan hadn’t yet been announced, but expect it to be competitive.

The single trim grade will be called Essence, and starts with an attractive, sleek exterior, especially in the deep Emerald Green Metallic that announces the presence of our test car.

If you’re wondering about street presence, let me regale you with this story. I had to run into a part of Sydney where the average income is significantly higher than the rest of Australia, where house prices require a lottery win, and where you’re more likely to see a circa $300,000 European badge crawling through traffic.

If you’re picking up where I’m going with this, it’s not a part of Sydney I have any business being in, but I needed to collect something for someone else, so I parked the MG7 – green paint sparkling in the summer sun – and ran across the road. When I returned to the car, four people – out for their morning walk – were standing on the footpath admiring it. “That’s a stunning car,” one of them said. “It’s an MG?” And then another. “I didn’t know MG sold expensive cars.”

2

I wonder if I should have told them they could park one in their absurdly expensive garage for less than 50 grand? Beauty – and appeal – is more than skin deep, but if you’re convincing the upwardly wealthy that your car costs more than it does, you’ve won half the battle.

We’ll get to the driving in a minute, but one element that builds the crucial appeal of a sports sedan is the cabin experience, and once you take your seat in the MG7 and thud the door closed, it’s obvious MG has delivered in style. This is not a six-figure car, but it feels (and looks) premium and well-executed inside the cabin. We’ve written before in Wheels that MG raises the bar with every new car it releases, and the MG7 once again lifts the expectation of what we now demand from the brand.

The huge panoramic sunroof for example, doesn’t just let light into the cabin adding to the sense of space and comfort. It also lends an expensive air to the driving experience, whether it’s open or closed. The leather and suede trimmed seats are sculpted enough that you don’t feel like you’re wedged into a GT3 car, but are adequately supported when you hook into a corner – which you will absolutely do in this car, such is its sporting nature. The driver’s seat is six-way adjustable, the passenger’s four-way, both front seats are heated, and the leather-trimmed steering wheel has that chunky, sporty feel to it. Some of you might naysay the 265 different colours you can choose from for the ambient interior lighting, but they add to the premium air of the experience.

I loved the head-up display, which was clear even in harsh sunlight, but does what good HUDs do and disappears into your subconscious when you don’t actually need it. You can turn it off, too, but it’s a good one when you do want to pay attention to it.

1

Crucially, the technology inside the cabin, which is now non-negotiable in the mind of the modern buyer, works and works well. The driver gets an interactive 10.25-inch digital cluster as part of this, which is customisable to show the information you want to see. The central infotainment touchscreen is a clear, 12.3-inch widescreen, and there are enough physical buttons and controls that you don’t tear your hair out (or what’s left of it, in my case) trying to work out how to adjust a simple function on the move.

You can access wireless smartphone connectivity if you want, but I prefer a wired connection and the charging it brings, rather than the wireless charging pad and the heat it brings, but the wireless
connection was rock solid on test. MG’s proprietary satellite navigation also worked well, but like me, I suspect most of you will prefer to use the mapping on your smartphone. The 14-speaker Bose audio system provides a meaty soundtrack to any cruise, and makes for a high-quality soundstage when you want to get your favourite album cranking.

The medium sedan segment is interesting in that it needs to offer a credible alternative to a medium SUV if it wants to attract buyers back to its fertile ground, and this is another area where the MG7 shines. Second row space, even for tall adults, is excellent, meaning a longer road trip is well within reach and you won’t need a visit to the chiropractor at the other end. The sloping roof line – so attractive from the outside – doesn’t eat into second row headroom as much as appearances might suggest, and at 184cm tall, I was comfortable behind my own driving position.

An element of practicality is also added to the equation in the form of a large, easy to access boot, as is the hallmark of the best liftback designs. It’s a powered tailgate, too, and fast enough to open or close that you won’t look like a drowned rat in a downpour. It’s the small things…

If Camry is the segment benchmark, it’s worth quoting its 524-litre boot space, making the MG7’s 375-litre boot a worthy challenger from what is a decidedly more svelte rear profile. Fold the rear seats in the MG7 though, and you liberate up to 1040 litres of space.

Now it’s worth noting that a sedan you have to climb out of, with a lower seat height, and a smaller,
not-quite-as-easy-to-access boot, is the argument put forward by those who favour SUVs. And it’s true, there’s some practicality in an SUV that a sedan doesn’t get. But – and it’s a big but – SUVs don’t deliver the same engagement as a sedan, unless you’re digging a big hole in your bank balance.

1

If you’re a committed Wheels reader, the page of the specification sheet you’re most interested in is the one where we can dig into the performance potential. MG itself would tell us that this isn’t meant to be – or trying to be – a hardcore performance sedan. But to describe it as a stylish cruiser with a touch of performance spice is to undersell it somewhat. It’s better than that, but to judge it by the numbers alone, and not take into account the elegant design, would be just as shortsighted.

The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol drinks premium fuel, and makes what feels at all times to be an effortless 170kW between 5500-6000rpm and 380Nm between 2500-3500rpm. The smooth way it works away under the bonnet means you barely even notice it, unless you open the exhaust up to extract maximum audio hilarity. The engine is mated to a nine-speed auto and front-wheel drive, and while the power and torque figures won’t make your eyes water, they are required to move just 1647kg, which is less mass than you’d find in the SUV brigade.

The 65-litre fuel tank and 8.0L/100km fuel use claim mean you’ll get a solid cruising range when you do hit the open road, and we saw 8.8L/100km on the highway, and 9.2L/100km in town in heavy traffic, which is quite reasonable for a car of this type and performance ability.

Regardless of the driving mode you choose, or the settings you work through in ‘X-Mode’, the engine is snappy and enthusiastic whenever you prod the throttle. Moving away from the lights, accelerating from crawling speed, or winding up to highway speed with some urgency, it doesn’t matter what you ask the engine to do, it does without any fuss, except the slight whistling of the turbo. Which we like, in this type of car. It adds to the theatre, even if we should be a little more mature. We’re not, so we love it.

1

Select the aforementioned X-Mode, the exhaust opens and the note deepens, and there’s a futuristic swooshing noise inside the cabin. From there, you can customise all sorts of settings through the
touchscreen. These include the rear spoiler, which deploys electrically, the suspension firmness, the
electronic diff, steering settings and power delivery via throttle sensitivity. While there’s some complexity to unpack, this customisation allows you to set the MG7 up exactly as you like, and enhances your level of connection to the car if you own it. This sort of stuff was a pipe dream not long ago, but is, for the new buyer at least, a crucial part of the appeal.

The engine keeps working enthusiastically, even right up to redline, in such a way that it doesn’t feel like it’s running out of puff, or tailing off higher up in the range. Under-tuned it might be, perhaps there’s more power to be extracted, but we liked the understated, easy nature of what is a smooth powerplant.

On the move, whether you’re at parking speed or pushing through your favourite twisty section of B-road, the MG7 feels light and responsive. The 2778mm wheelbase helps to sharpen up the response and drive experience, and there’s absolutely no doubt that this is a fun car to drive and a safe way to explore the limits of the road up to the speed limit. I reckon it would be a hoot on a twisty race track, too.

Repeated corners that require you to get the brakes working don’t overeat the system or tax it to the point of losing efficacy. Like the steering, the brake pedal has enough meat to it that it feels sporty without being infuriating when you’re not wound up behind the wheel. Ultimately, if you really push the MG7 hard into corners, it is prone to understeer, but that’s the case with just about anything front-driver. Only the very best sidestep this character trait.

Point the MG7 down the highway and even long sections of coarse chip surfacing can’t upset the
quality of the cabin experience. The MG7 is quiet and refined, with a minimal amount of tyre and wind noise making its way into the cabin. In the softer comfort settings, the suspension easily deals with the worst of our urban road network. Stylish 19-inch rims shod in 245/40/R19 Michelin tyres are a good choice and sidestep the oftentimes too big wheel/tyre package some manufacturers opt for in the name of aesthetics.

Gripes are few in regard to the drive experience. The nine-speed auto doesn’t quite nail the balance
between comfort and performance. In ‘Normal’ or ‘Eco’ modes, it’s a little slower to react than we’d like, and in ‘Sport’, it’s a little too enthusiastic to hold gears and therefore the revs sing higher than we’d like.

Using the paddle shifters is undoubtedly the surefire way to extract the best from the 2.0-litre when you’re having some fun. All round though, the driving experience you will get from the MG7 matches the attractive styling that you notice as soon as you spot one in the wild.

Wheels’ take on the MG7 is that a brand on the rise has once again reset the bar of what we expect from its next new car. This is a solid, sporty sedan that’s fun to drive, provides just enough silliness without being immature, and looks the part, which is arguably as important as anything to most buyers. The fact you can have this much car, and this experience beneath a $50,000 ceiling, is once again proof you don’t need to re-mortgage the house to have fun behind the wheel.

Attractive styling, as hard as that might seem to access, is only one part of the equation. Backing that up with a cabin and driving experience of substance is another thing entirely. And MG has done exactly that. Next we’ll see how the MG7 compares to the other sporting sedans on sale.

1

Specs

This story appears in the January 2026 issue of Wheels, on sale now.